Rotary tool for connection with a waste disposal



Nov. 29, 1966 J. P. R. BELL 3,283,381

ROTARY TOOL FOR CONNECTION WITH A WASTE DISPOSAL Filed Dec. 9, 1963 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 'IIIIII 4/ 42 N; 36 43 &9

(B Z 45 f 2 [Z 23 Inventor J P R 8 Attorney 9, 1966 J. P. R. BELL. 3,288,381

ROTARY TOOL FOR CONNECTION WITH A WASTE DISPOSAL Filed Dec. 9, 1963 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Z Z V 24 [f 14 fie] Inventor J P Ff. 5e// J. P. R. BELL Nov. 29, 1966 ROTARY TOOL FOR CONNECTION WITH A WASTE DISPOSAL i3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Dec. 9, 1963 Inventor JR A. Be// B M l6 1 Womeys United States Patent ROTARY TOOL FOR CONNECTION WITH A WASTE DISPOSAL John Patrick Raymond Bell, 4 St. Albans Grove, London, England Filed Dec. 9, 1963, Ser. No. 323,923 Claims priority, application Great Britain, Dec. 14, 1962, 47,292/ 62 6 Claims. (Cl. 241-401) It has been proposed to use electric motor driven waste disposal units of the kind which are arranged to be fitted under the outlet of a kitchen sink as a source of power for driving other devices, such as clothes washing rotors or rotary pot scourers which are located within or near the sink itself. For this purpose a drive is taken from the upright driving shaft of the comminutor rotor of the waste disposal unit through the sink outlet to the rotary tool.

In most of these proposals some form of dog-clutch or other simple form of clutch has been provided between the shaft of the comminutor rotor and the shaft of the rotary tool in the sink. Once the tool is fitted into position, there is therefore a drive at all times from the motor of the waste disposal unit to the rotary tool and as the tool is exposed in the bottom of the sink and it may rotate at high speed and this can be very dangerous.

According to my invention, a waste disposal unit of the kind described is provided in combination with a rotary tool and a sink cover, the upright driving shaft of the unit having a driving clutch member at its upper end and the rotary tool having a hollow shaft which is carried in a bearing in a plug that is arranged to fit into the sink outlet and which has a driven clutch member disposed below the plug and urged upwards by a spring relatively to the plug into a disengaged position, the cover which is arranged to fit over and enclose the rotary tool in the sink carrying a clutch operating member extending downwards from the cover and, in use, extending into the hollow shaft of the rotary tool to move the driven clutch member downwards against its spring into engagement with the driving member so that the tool is rotated by the comminutor rotor shaft.

With this arrangement the rotary tool is fitted in position in the sink by fitting the plug in the sink outlet, but at this time the two clutch members are held out of engagement with each other so that even if the motor of the waste disposal unit is switched on, the rotary tool is still not driven. The clutch can only be engaged by fitting the cover in position so that the clutch operating member extends down through the hollow shaft of the rotary tool and moves the driven clutch member downwards. When this is done, the rotary tool is set in operation, but it is enclosed by the cover and it cannot therefore harm the operator.

The tool may be a dishor clothes-washing rotor for agitating water in the sink and in this case the cover may be an inverted transparent plastic bowl which is arranged to fit over the whole of the sink. Alternatively the rotary tool may be, for example, an abrasive wheel forming part of a vegetable peeling device. In this case the rotary abrasive wheel is enclosed in its own separate pot into which the vegetables are placed and the cover fits on the pot. The abrasive wheel cannot be set in motion by engagement of the clutch until the cover is fitted to the pot.

The driving clutch member may be attached directly to the upper end of the comminutor rotor, but preferably it is on the upper end of an auxiliary shaft which is itself connected to the upper end of the comminutor rotor by a detachable coupling which may be for example a cone clutch. In this case, the upper end of the auxiliary shaft may be supported in a bearing in a plug which fits directly into the outlet opening of the sink and the plug which 3,288,381 Patented Nov. 29, 1966 carries the bearing of the rotary tool fits into the plug of the auxiliary shaft. This arrangement is better because, in general, the rotor of the comminutor is at the bottom of the chamber some distance below the sink outlet and it is undesirable to have a permanent shaft with a clutch at its upper end extending upwards through this chamber as it obstructs the chamber when it is performing its normal function of a waste disposer. The auxiliary shaft with its detachable coupling is therefore only fixed into position when one of the rotary tools is to be used.

The plug which supports the auxiliary shaft bearing preferably incorporates a magnet, which when this plug is fitted in position operates a magnetic switch which switches on the motor of the disposal unit. This plug which supports the auxiliary shaft bearing may be held in position by a bayonet or other form of quick release joint.

One or more rotary hand tools such as pot scourers may be used in conjunction with the waste disposal unit, rotary tool, and cover in accordance with the invention. The pot scourer or other hand tool is not of course used with a cover as it must be applied directly to the pot. The rotary hand tool may then be mounted at one end of a flexible driving shaft which has an outer covering and the other end of which passes through a plug and is connected to a driven clutch member, the arrangement being such that the plug on the flexible shaft can be fitted in the sink outlet in place of the plug which carries the hollow shaft of the other rotary tool, the whole flexible shaft being biased by a spring to move within its covering in a direction away from the plug so that the clutch is disengaged but being movable back by a trigger at the end of the flexible shaft covering adjacent to the hand tool to engage the drive from the comminutor rotor shaft for the hand tool. The trigger is pressed when the hand tool is held ready for use and its rotary part is then driven. It is impossible for the rotary part of this tool to turn unless it is held in the hand and the trigger is pressed and it is therefore quite safe.

One example of a waste disposal unit together with a dish-washing device and a pot scourer in accordance with the present invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE I is a perspective view of the dish-washing device in position in a sink;

FIGURE II is a central vertical section through the dish-washing device showing the driving shaft and clutch operating mechanism for the dish-washing rotor;

FIGURE III is an enlarged view of part of the dishwashing device shown in FIGURE II;

FIGURE IV is a longitudinal section, partly diagrammatic, through the pot scourer with its driving shaft and clutch; and

FIGURE V is a scrap side elevation of the trigger mechanism for connecting the drive to the pot scourer.

The first three figures of the drawings show the waste disposer 1 fitted to the outlet 2 of a sink 3 having a bowl 4. The sink is shown fitted with a dish-washing device which includes a rack 5 for crockery and cutlery standing in the bowl 4 of the sink and an inverted bowl-shaped transparent plastic cover 6.

The waste disposer itself has a motor in a housing 7 and the motor drives a driving shaft 8 for a rotor 9 which is fixed by means of a nut 10 on the end of the shaft 8 and rotates in a chamber 11. The rotor 9 and shaft 8 are carried in a bearing 1 111 which is mounted in a hollow boss 12 forming the mid-portion of a lower wall 13 of the chamber 11.

The chamber 11 is bolted by bolts which pass through an annular washer 14 to a lower radial flange on a rubber sleeve 15. An upper flange on this sleeve 15 is gripped between two annular supporting plates 16 and 17 and the plate 17 rests on a beading 18 which is held in a groove in the sink outlet. In this way the whole waste disposer is fixed to the sink.

When the waste disposer is used for comminuting rubbish the sink outlet 2 and the chamber 11 are unobstructed except for the rotor 9. The waste disposer is of the batch type and the rubbish is fed into the chamber 11 from the bowl 4 of the sink through the outlet 2. A plug (not shown) which incorporates a magnet is then placed in the outlet 2 and the magnet causes a magnetically-operated micro-switch 19 to close so that the motor of the waste disposer is automatically started. This sets the rotor 9 in operation and it throws the rubbish outwards against a cutter ring 20. The rubbish is gradually comminuted and passes out of the chamber 11 through an outlet 21 to the sink drain. When all the rubbish has been comminuted the plug is removed and the chamber 11 can be flushed out with water.

When the waste disposer is to be used in conjunction with a rotary tool in the sink, an auxiliary driving shaft 22 is led through the outlet 2 into the chamber 11. This shaft 22 is carried by a bearing 23 in a plug 24 which is secured in the sink outlet 2 by a bayonet joint 25. A driving dog-clutch member 26 is fixed to the upper end of the shaft 22. At its lower end the shaft 22 slides in a blind bore in a tubular extension 27 on a female cone clutch member 28. A cross-pin 29 is fixed in the shaft 22 and can slide in axial keyways in the walls of the extension 27. This allows relative axial movement between the clutch member 28 and the shaft 22 but constrains them to rotate together. A coiled compression spring 30 is trapped in the blind bore between the end of the bore and the lower end of the shaft 22 and urges the clutch member 28 and the shaft away from each other. The clutch member 28 has a central rubber portion 31 which prevents undue shock being transmitted to the shaft 22 when the clutch member is brought into engagement with a male clutch member 32 formed by a conical annular boss on the rotor 9. The inner surface of the clutch member 28 is also conical and the spring 30 urges the two clutch members 28 and 32 into engagement with one another when the plug 24 is secured in the sink outlet 2. As soon as the auxiliary shaft 22 is fitted in position a magnet which is incorporated in a space 34 in the plug 24 causes the micro-switch 19 to be closed so that the motor of the waste disposer is started and the drive is transmitted to the driving dog-clutch member 26.

The plug 24 and auxiliary shaft 22 must be fitted in position as described prior to using any of the rotary tools which are to be driven by the motor of the waste disposer. However, when the rotary tool to be driven is the rotor of a dish-washing device as illustrated in FIGURES I to III or alternatively the rotor of a clotheswashing device or the abrasive wheel of a vegetable peeler or any other rotary tool which is to be used in the sink in a fixed position beneath a cover, an additional hollow shaft 35 is fixed in position.

This shaft 35 is rotatably mounted at its lower end in a sealed bearing in a hollow plug 36 which is a pushsnap fit into a hollow extension 37 of the plug 24 which carries the auxiliary shaft 22. The snap action is provided by a spring ring 38 which is fixed in the extension 37 and snaps into an annular groove in the plug 36. The plug 36 also carries a resilient flange 39 which engages the edge of the sink bowl around the outlet 2 and seals the outlet so that the bowl 4 of the sink can be filled with water.

Within the hollow shaft 35 is another shaft 40 of much smaller diameter which is slidable upwards and downwards in a bearing 41 within the hollow shaft. This smaller shaft 40 is keyed to the shaft 35, so that the two shafts rotate together, by a cross-pin 42 which extends through the smaller shaft into axial keyways in the inside of the wall of the hollow shaft 35. The smaller shaft 40 is urged upwards within the hollow shaft by a spring 43 which acts between the cross-pin 42 and a shoulder on the wall of the hollow shaft 35. The bearing 41 is urged downwards against a shoulder on the smaller shaft 40 by a spring 44. At the bottom end of the smaller shaft 40 which extends through the plug 36, there is the driven member 45 of a dog-clutch corresponding to the driving dog-clutch member 26 on the top of the auxiliary shaft. The driven clutch member 45 is urged by the spring 43 out of engagement with the driving member 26. As a result, when the plug 36 is fitted into the plug 24, no drive is transmitted to the shaft 40 and thence to the hollow shaft 35 and to two hard rubber helical blades 46 which are fixed to the hollow shaft 35 and form the rotor for agitating water in the sink. There is therefore no danger of damage to the fingers of a person who is fitting the plug 36 in position.

The plastic cover 6 rests on a ledge within a lip 47 at the upper edge of solid side walls 48 which surround the upper part of the basket 5 and prevent water from splashing out of the bowl of the sink. The cover has a circular recess 49 in its roof and an upright tube 50 projects from within this recess through the cover and downwards into alignment with the hollow shaft 35 when the cover is in position on the sink. At the top of the hollow shaft 35 is a plug 51 and this plug incorporates a hearing so that the hollow shaft can rotate relatively to the tube 50. Within the tube 50 is an operating rod 52 which has a button 53 at its upper end within the recess 49 and a nose 54 projecting from the bottom of the tube 50 into contact with the top of the smaller shaft 40 in the hollow shaft 35 when the tube 50 is in position in the shaft 35. When the button 53 is pressed downwards the nose 54 presses the smaller shaft 40 downwards and so causes the driven dog-clutch member 45 to come into engagement with the driving dogclutch member 26 at the top of the auxiliary shaft. A drive is then transmitted through the dog-clutch 26, 45 to the shaft 40, through the cross-pin 42 to the hollow shaft 35 on which the helical blades 46 of the rotor are carried. These blades are thus rotated and impel the water in the sink upwards against the dishes and cutlery in the basket 5 and the water then falls back into the bowl 4 so that a general circulation of the water takes place. The button 53 can be retained in its depressed position so that the drive to the blades 46 is maintained by a slider 55 which can be moved inwards against the action of a spring 56 into a cut away portion on the shaft 52. It will be appreciated that no drive is transmitted to the shaft 35 until the cover 6 is safely fitted in position.

When it is desired to use a rotary hand tool such as the :pot scourer illustrated in FIGURES IV and V, the dish-washing cover 6 and rack 5 are removed from the sink and the hollow shaft and plug 36 are removed from the plug 24. In place of the plug 36, a plug 57 is snapped into position in the tubular extension 37 of the plug 24. This plug 57 is fixed on the end of the flexible outer covering 58 of a flexible driving shaft 59 which is rotatable in the plug 57.

At its other end the outer covering 58 is fixed to a rigid sleeve 60 which is screwed into a lip 61 at the end of a tubular extension 62 of a hollow housing 63 for the pot scourer. Within the sleeve 60, the driving shaft 59 is fixed within an enlarged spindle 64 which has a radial flange 65. The other end of the spindle 64 has a blind axial bore into which a shaft 66 is keyed. This shaft 66 passes through the extension 62 into the housing 63 where it carries a bevel gear wheel 67. The bevel gear wheel meshes with a larger bevel gear wheel 68 which is formed integrally with a hollow shaft 69 and is mounted at one end in a bearing .in the rear wall of the housing 63 and at the other end in a plate 70 which is a snap fit behind a spring ring 71 in the front of the housing 63. A pot scouring brush 72 is fixed on a shaft 73 which is keyed in the hollow shaft 69 and is retained therein by a spring ring 74. The brush 7'. and shaft 73 can be ejected from the hollow shaft 69 for replacement by pressing a spring loaded ejector button 75 which projects into the hollow shaft 69 through the rear wall of the housing 63.

The driving shaft 59 is normally urged within the outer cover 58 and the sleeve 60 in a direction away from the plug 57 by a coiled compression spring 76 which at one end engages a shoulder 77 in the wall of the sleeve 60 and which at the other end urges a thrust ring 78 against a shoulder formed on the spindle 64. There is therefore no drive from the auxiliary driving shaft 22 to the scouring brush 72 in spite of the fact that the plug 57 has been fitted in the plug 24.

The drive can only be engaged by squeezing a hand trigger 79 which is pivoted at one end to a bracket 80 surrounding the end of the sleeve 60. Two pivotal links 81 are pivoted at one end to the trigger 79 and at their other ends they each have an aperture 82 into which one of two outwardly radially extending lugs 83 formed integrally with the thrust ring 78 and extending out through elongated slots 84 in the sleeve 60, project. When the trigger 79 is squeezed, the links 81 force the thrust ring 78 back in the sleeve 60 against the action of the spring 76. A coiled compression spring 85 which at one end engages the end of the tubular extension 62 and which at its other end engages the radial flange 65, forces the spindle 64 and with it the driving shaft 59 towards the plug 57. The shaft 59 moves within the outer casing 58 and the spindle 64 slides along the shaft 66. Within the plug 57, the end of the driving shaft 59 is formed with a spade end 86 and as the driving shaft 59 is moved back by the spring 85, this spade end 86 enters a diametrical slot in the driving clutch member 26. A drive is then transmitted from the comminuter motor, through the auxiliary shaft 22, the flexible driving shaft 59, the spindle 64, the shaft 56, the bevel gear wheels 67 and 68 to the shaft 73 and the scouring brush 72. As soon as the trigger is released the spring 76, which is stronger than the spring 85, urges the spindle 64 and with it the flexible driving shaft 59 back to its original position so that the drive from the driving clutch member 26 to the spade end 86 is disengaged. It is apparent therefore that the pot scourer can quite safely be laid down while a person is fitting the plug 57 into the plug 24 without there being any danger of the brush 72 beginning to rotate prematurely.

I claim:

1. A rotary tool for use with a waste disposal unit of the kind which comprises an upright driving shaft and a driving clutch member at the upper end of said shaft, and is adapted to be positioned below a kitchen sink, said rotary tool comprising a plug, a flexible shaft extending through said plug, a covering for said flexible shaft, said covering having one end fixed to said plug, a rotary hand tool fixed to one end of said flexible shaft and a driven clutch member fixed to the other end of said flexible shaft, said plug being adapted to fit in said sink outlet opening with said driven clutch member adjacent said driving clutch member, a spring biasing said flexible shaft to move within said outer covering in a direction away from said plug whereby said driven clutch member is held out of engagement with said driving clutch member and trigger means at the end of said outer covering adjacent said hand tool, said trigger means being operable to move said flexible shaft within said outer covering against the action of said spring to engage said driving and said driven clutch members to cause said upright driving shaft to rotate said rotary hand tool.

2. The tool claimed in claim I, further comprising an auxiliary shaft and means detachably coupling said auxiliary shaft to the upper end of said upright driving shaft, said auxiliary shaft carrying said driving clutch member.

3. The tool claimed in claim 2, wherein said means detachably coupling said auxiliary shaft to said upright shaft is a cone clutch.

4. The tool claimed in claim 2, further comprising a second plug, a second bearing in said second plug, said second bearing supporting the upper end of said auxiliary shaft and said second plug fitting directly into the outlet opening of said sink and said first plug in which said first bearing carrying said rotary tool is mounted, fitting into said second plug.

5. A tool as claimed in claim 2 for use with a waste disposal unit comprising an electric motor and a magnetic switch controlling said motor, said tool comprising a magnet positioned in said first plug to close said magnetic switch when said first plug is fitted in said sink outlet.

6. The tool claimed in claim 5, further comprising a bayonet joint for holding said first plug in said sink outlet.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,828,820 10/1931 Schulse 1523 1,927,566 9/1933 Hawk 1523 2,869,794 1/1959 Modrey 241l01 3,023,437 3/1962 Dresen 1523 3,033,474 5/1962 OToole 241101 ROBERT C. RIORDON, Primary Examiner.

H. F. PEPPER, JR., Assistant Examiner. 

1. A ROTARY TOOL FOR USE WITH A WASTE DISPOSAL UNIT OF THE KIND WHICH COMPRISES AN UPRIGHT DRIVING SHAFT AND A DRIVING CLUTCH MEMBER AT THE UPPER END OF SAID SHAFT, AND IS ADAPTED TO BE POSITIONED BELOW A KITCHEN SINK, SAID ROTARY TOOL COMPRISING A PLUG, A FLEXIBLE SHAFT EXTENDING THROUGH SAID PLUG, A COVERING FOR SAID FLEXIBLE SHAFT, AND COVERING HAVING ONE END FIXED TO SAID PLUG, A ROTARY HAND TOOL FIXED TO ONE END OF SAID FLEXIBLE SHAFT AND A DRIVEN CLUTCH MEMBER FIXED TO THE OTHER END OF SAID FLEXIBLE SHAFT, SAID PLUG BEING ADAPTED TO FIT IN SAID SINK OUTLET OPENING WITH SAID DRIVEN CLUTCH MEMBER ADJACENT SAID DRIVING CLUTCH MEMBER, A SPRING BIASING SAID FLEXIBLE SHAFT TO MOVE WITHIN SAID OUTER COVERING IN A DIRECTION AWAY FROM SAID PLUG WHEREBY SAID DRIVEN CLUTCH MEMBER IS HELD OUT OF ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID DRIVING CLUTCH MEMBER AND TRIGGER MEANS AT THE END OF SAID OUTER COVERING ADJACENT SAID HAND TOOL, SAID TRIGGER MEANS BEING OPERABLE TO MOVE SAID FLEXIBLE SHAFT WITHIN SAID OUTER COVERING AGAINST THE ACTION OF SAID SPRING TO ENGAGE SAID DRIVING AND SAID DRIVEN CLUTCH MEMBERS TO CAUSE SAID UPRIGHT DRIVING SHAFT TO ROTATE SAID ROTARY HAND TOOL. 